ESSEX Firefighters were called to a fire in Church Hill, Stanford-Le-Hope at 2:40am.
On arrival, two crews reported a fire on decking had spread into a building.
A further crew and an Aerial Ladder Platform from Grays were requested to help to prevent the fire spreading into an adjacent pub.
Crews worked quickly to put the fire out and used the Aerial Ladder Platform to cool the roof space of the building to prevent it spreading further.
An investigation carried out today found the fire was started deliberately.
Watch Manager Steve Barclay from Orsett Fire Station said: “Initial crews worked brilliantly to get this fire under control and get water onto the scene quickly, this helped to stop the fire spreading into the roof space of the pub next door and has minimised damage. We had an Aerial Ladder Platform on scene with firefighters taking the roof apart to cool any hotspots and we’re really pleased to have stopped the fire spreading next door.”
